John Zawahri

John Samir Zawahri (June 8, 1989 – June 7, 2013) is the man who carried out a mass shooting in Santa Monica, CA on June 7, 2013. He killed his dad Samir and his older brother Christopher at their home, John then set the house on fire where he shot Debra Fine who tried to intervene. Once he got to Santa Monica College he killed Margarita Gomez who was collecting recyclable's, he also shot into a Ford Explorer where he killed Carlos Franco and injured his daughter Marcels who died 2 days later in the hospital. He was later shot by police.

Background

The rampage allegedly started over an undetermined family dispute. Public records show that Zawahri's parents were married in 1985 and moved into the house they purchased on Yorkshire Avenue in 1996, but the mother, Randa Abdou, left the home and moved to an apartment with the two boys in 1998. She sought a restraining order against the father a short time later, but the case was dismissed when the mother failed to appear in court. Subsequently, the elder son lived with the father at the residence on Yorkshire Avenue, while Zawahri lived in an apartment in Mar Vista, Los Angeles with his mother. Though there is no record that the couple divorced, by 2013 they had been living separately for years. Randa Abdou was out of the country visiting relatives at the time of the shooting, but returned during the following weekend and was assisting authorities in the investigation.

Zawahri prepared a three-page handwritten note that was found on his body. In it, he expressed remorse for killing his father and brother, but did not give a motive. He said goodbye to friends and expressed hope that his mother would be taken care of and receive recompense from his father's estate. Investigators believe that mental illness played a role in the killings, but no details were given. Searching his home, police found replica weapons and illegal zip guns. It was also learned that the California Department of Justice advised Zawahri in an October 2011 letter that he was ineligible to purchase a firearm.The incident occurred the day before Zawahri's 24th birthday.

In 2006, when Zawahri was a student at Olympic High School in Santa Monica, a teacher saw him surfing the Web for information on assault weapons and instructions on making explosive devices. School staff also learned that he had repeatedly made threats against students, teachers, and campus security officers. Within days, police were involved and bomb-making materials were found at his home. Zawahri was subsequently admitted to the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. Zawahri was a student of Santa Monica High School before enrolling in Santa Monica College in the winter of 2009. The college had no disciplinary issues with Zawahri, officials said. He left the school in the fall of 2010.